San Antonio, TX — 4/3/26 Alliance Flooring’s woman flooring retailers and suppliers met recently in San Antonio at their 2026 Innovate Convention at the JW Marriott Hill Country. Mallory Cruise-McGrath, managing editor of Floor Covering Weekly, and member of the events committee for the educational non-profit Women in the Floor Covering Industry (WIFI) moderated the session.
WIFI attracts, educates, and empowers women in the flooring industry. WIFI activities are available to women and those in support of women in the flooring industry.
The three topics that were discussed during this roundtable event were:
- How Buying Behavior is Changing
- What’s Driving Foot Traffic Right Now
- Managing Teams During Slowdowns or Restructuring
Cruise shared the topics and each table discussed for a period of time. Each group nominated a table head to share what they discussed.
Megan Polk, Alliance Flooring’s Merchandising & Product Manager, pointed out, “Customers are walking in with a very different mindset than they used to. Some have done a ton of online research and feel ready to make a decision, while others are actually more overwhelmed by all the information out there. That’s changing how conversations happen in-store—and how long decisions take.”
WIFI Programs include scholarships for secondary and continuing education and presenting of professional development and mentoring programs.
Corinne Gilbert, manager at Gilbert’s CarpetsPlus in Big Rapids, MI, was one of those WIFI scholarship winners last year. She said the application process was easy and was looking to help her store by taking classes. “In Michigan you have to have a General Contractor license to sell and install tile and hardwood as well as to install tile showers. So I decided to begin that process and WIFI paid for my books, materials, and the online course. It was great to have that extra help.”